Music plagiarism is the use or close imitation of another author's music while representing it as one's own original work. Plagiarism in music now occurs in two contexts—with a musical idea (that is, a melody or motif) or sampling (taking a portion of one sound recording and reusing it in a different song). For a legal history of the latter see sampling.
Overview Any music that follows rules of a musical scale is limited by the ability to use a small number of notes. For example, in 2019 Damien Riehl and Noah Rubin used a computer to compose every possible 12-beat melody without chords in a one-octave heptatonic scale; there are approximately 68.7 billion such combinations at full length, small enough to fit on some commercially available hard drives. All forms of music can be said to include patterns. Algorithms (or, at the very least, formal sets of rules) have been used to compose music for centuries; the procedures used to plot voice-leading in Western counterpoint, for example, can often be reduced to algorithmic determinacy.
For these reasons, accidental or "unconscious" plagiarism is possible. As well, some artists abandon the stigma of plagiarism altogether. Composer Dmitri Shostakovich perhaps commented sarcastically on the issue of musical plagiarism with his use of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", an instantly recognizable tune, in his Prelude in D-flat, Op. 87, No. 15.
According to U.S. copyright law, in the absence of a confession, musicians who accuse others of stealing their work must prove "access"—the alleged plagiarizer must have heard the song—and "similarity"—the songs must share unique musical components. though it is difficult to come to a definition of what is "similarity".
Folk tradition The issue of "plagiarism" in folk music is difficult to define as copying and not crediting songs was common, and the common sharing of musical ideas and expressions was held as a universal trust. Noted blues author and producer Robert Palmer states "It is the custom, in blues music, for a singer to borrow verses from contemporary sources, both oral and recorded, add his own tune and/or arrangement, and call the song his own". Folklorist Carl Lindahl, refers to these recycling of lyrics in songs as "floating lyrics". He defines it within the folk-music tradition as "lines that have circulated so long in folk communities that tradition-steeped singers call them instantly to mind and rearrange them constantly, and often unconsciously, to suit their personal and community aesthetics".Carl Lindahl, "Thrills and Miracles: Legends of Lloyd Chandler", Journal of Folklore Research, Bloomington: May–December 2004, Vol. 41, Issue 2/3, pp. 133–72. In 2012, when Bob Dylan was questioned over his alleged plagiarism of others' music he responded, "It's an old thing—it's part of the tradition. It goes way back." Princeton University professor of American history Sean Wilentz defended Dylan's appropriation of music stating "crediting bits and pieces of another's work is scholarly tradition, not an artistic tradition". In 1998, B.B. King stated on the issue, "I don't think anybody steals anything; all of us borrow."Newman, Richard (1998). African American Quotations. Oryx Press. pp. 98.
Musical ideas Plagiarism is relevant to different musical styles in different ways.
In classical music, software exists that automatically generates music in the style of another composer, using musical analysis of their works. Most notably, David Cope has written a software system called "Experiments in Musical Intelligence" (or "EMI") that is capable of analyzing and generalizing from existing music by a human composer to generate novel musical compositions in the same style. EMI's output is convincing enough to persuade human listeners that its music is human-generated to a high level of competence. For this reason, Cope's work has been said to not produce original music. A different approach is being followed by Melomics, a technology focused on teaching computers the rules of music composition, not the works of previous composers. This technology has opened the way to truly creative computer-composers, like Iamus and Melomics109. The records produced (Iamus' album and 0music) are in the computer's own style, so they cannot be considered a pastiche or plagiarism of previous works.
According to Theodor W. Adorno's highly controversial view, popular music in general employs extensive plagiarism: variety in the musical material occurs in details whereas genuinely original musical content tends to be sparse when compared to classical or art music. Contradicting this claim is classical music critic Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times who said that many composers used material from previous composers—for example, "John Williams all but lifted the core idea of his soundtrack score from the Scherzo of Erich Korngold's Symphony in F-sharp Major, written 25 years earlier."
Sampling
Sampling has long been an area of contention from a legal perspective. Early sampling artists simply used portions of other artists' recordings, without permission; once hip hop and other music incorporating samples began to make significant money, the original artists began to take legal action, claiming copyright infringement. Some sampling artists fought back, claiming their samples were fair use (a legal doctrine in the USA that is not universal). International sampling is governed by agreements such as the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and the WIPO Copyright and Performances and Phonograms Treaties Implementation Act.
Today, most major artists obtain prior authorization to use samples, a process known as "clearing", by gaining permission to use the sample and, usually, paying an upfront fee and/or a cut of the royalties to the original artist. Independent musicians, lacking the funds and legal assistance to clear samples, are at a disadvantage unless they seek the services of a professional sample replay company or producer.
Recently, the free culture movement, started mainly by Lawrence Lessig, has prompted many audio works to be licensed under a Creative Commons license that allows for legal sampling of the work provided the resulting work(s) are licensed under the same terms.
Cases Usually cases of alleged plagiarism are settled out of court, due to the expense of litigation. Most artists try and settle for costs that will be less than defending costs. Since the 1850s federal courts have published fewer than 100 opinions dealing with this issue. The Columbia Law School Library's Music Plagiarism Project provides information on many cases over the decades, with a few dating back to the 19th century.
Successful suits and settlements The opening melody of the 1920 song "Avalon" resembles a part of Giacomo Puccini's aria E lucevan le stelle, from the 1900 opera Tosca, but in the major key. In 1921 Puccini's publishers sued the song's composers (Vincent Rose, Al Jolson and Buddy DeSylva) for use of the melody, and were awarded $25,000 and all subsequent royalties of the song by the court. Solomon Linda was a South African musician, singer and composer best known as the composer of the song "Mbube", which later became the popular music success "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Despite the popularity and wide use of the song, Linda died impoverished in 1962 of renal failure. In February 2006, Linda's estate attained a legal settlement with Abilene Music company, which had the worldwide rights and had licensed the song to Disney. The primary outcomes of the settlement of February 2006 were: The Linda estate will receive payment for past uses of The Lion Sleeps Tonight and an entitlement to future royalties from its worldwide use. The Lion Sleeps Tonight is acknowledged as derived from Mbube. Solomon Linda is acknowledged as a co-composer of The Lion Sleeps Tonight and will be designated as such in the future. In March 1963, the Beach Boys released "Surfin' U.S.A." When the single was released in 1963, the record listed Brian Wilson as the sole composer although the song was published by Arc Music, Chuck Berry's publisher. Later releases, beginning with Best of The Beach Boys in 1966, listed Chuck Berry as the songwriter. Later releases list both writers although the copyright has always been owned, since 1963, by Arc Music. Under pressure from Berry's publisher, Wilson's father and manager, Murry Wilson, had given the copyright, including Brian Wilson's lyrics, to Arc Music.Pegg, Bruce. Brown Eyed Handsome Man (2002): 162–163 George Martin's score for the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" (1967) contained melodies from several songs thought to be public domain, including "In the Mood", written by Joe Garland and Andy Razaf. While the song was in the public domain, the Glenn Miller arrangement used was not and EMI made a royalty payment to KPM Publishing in July 1967.Lewisohn, Mark. The Beatles: Recording Sessions (1988): 120 John Lennon's use of a line from Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me" ("Here come up flat top / He was movin' up with me/") the 1969 Beatles' song "Come Together" ("Here comes ol' flat-top / He come groovin' up slowly") led to a lawsuit from Berry's publisher, Big Seven Music Corp. In 1973, a settlement was reached whereby Lennon agreed to record three of Big Seven's songs on his next album. Big Seven Music Corp. again sued Lennon for breach of contract, when his 1974 album, Walls and Bridges, failed to contain all three of the songs, with the court awarding the company US$6,795. Led Zeppelin's song "Dazed and Confused" was derived from a 1967 Jake Holmes song of the same name, which had been performed by Jimmy Page when he was with The Yardbirds.Fast, Susan. "Dazed and Confused". In the Houses of the Holy: Led Zeppelin and the Power of Rock Music, p. 21. Oxford, 2001. Matt Resnicoff, Matt. "In Through the Out Door: Jimmy Page Goes Back to Led Zeppelin" Musician November 1990: 62 In June 2010, Holmes filed a lawsuit against the guitarist for copyright infringement in a United States District Court, claiming Page knowingly copied his work.Led Zeppelin sued by folk singer for alleged plagiarism. New York Post. Retrieved 6 July 2010. The case was dismissed with prejudice in January 2012 following a stipulation filed by both parties. The 2012 Led Zeppelin release Celebration Day credits the song to "Jimmy Page, inspired by Jake Holmes". On Led Zeppelin's album Led Zeppelin II (1969), parts of the song "Bring It On Home" were copied from Sonny Boy Williamson's 1963 recording of "Bring It On Home", written by Willie Dixon. On the same album, "The Lemon Song" included an adaptation of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor". In 1972, Arc Music, the publishing arm of Chess Records, brought a lawsuit against Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement over "Bring It On Home" and "The Lemon Song"; the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Earlier UK pressings of the album listed the song as "Killing Floor" and part credited it to Burnett, Howling Wolf's real name. Led Zeppelin's song "Whole Lotta Love" contained lyrics that were derivative of Willie Dixon's 1962 song "You Need Love". In 1985, Dixon filed a copyright infringement suit, resulting in an out-of-court settlement. Later pressings of Led Zeppelin II credit Dixon as co-writer.Goldstein, Patrick. "Whole Lotta Litigation". Los Angeles Times, 3 February 1985: N72